Opinion

“Love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart” (W. H. Auden). Our hearts are not necessarily crooked in the criminal sense; but they are battered and bruised and wrenched – or likely to become so without much warning. They need compassion, even from themselves, for themselves.

I think one of the best definitions of sin is anything we do that separates us from God. When we talk about sin we find that humans make very little of sin and God makes so much of it. People joke about it, even brag about their sins. Much of our entertainment glorifies sinful life choices.

God hates sin (Proverbs 6:16ff.). God says that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God says that sin is a very serious matter.

A fellow named Willie was deep in debt and was thinking of committing suicide.

Elmer Towns tells about a motorcycle gang member who was dramatically converted to faith in Jesus Christ. The next Sunday he did the only thing he knew he should do and went to church. Nobody in the church knew him and he walked down to the second aisle and sat in the pew. The people stared because he looked the part: big and burly, bearded, long hair, black jacket and lots of tattoos.

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and while the dangers of childhood obesity are well-chronicled, many children who are overweight or obese don’t realize it. That’s why the Oldham County Family YMCA — a leading voice on improving health — wants families to understand the role weight perception plays in childhood obesity and ways to reverse course through increased physical activity and improved eating habits.

Last Saturday night, La Grange was the winner in oh so many ways! The Rawlings family’s vision of providing La Grange a location for community events was unveiled at the Dedication Concert of the new CityPlace.

For the first time in our 22-year parenting career, hubby and I attended a Friday night high school football game. Never having a kid on the team, I have not been compelled to spend my time on cold, metal bleachers.

But this past Friday was an entirely different matter. Our daughter was on the homecoming court, so I donned my heaviest sweater, grabbed a couple of blankets and we headed to the game. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, so I asked, “Where is the best place to sit so that we have a good view?”

One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer and Coolidge looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate and wittily replied. “I’ve looked through the rule book,” he said, “You don’t have to go.”

As any good firefighter knows, where there’s smoke, there could be a fire.

The problem for residents of North Oldham is that the smoke is currently coming from their own firehouse.

It started weeks ago, when the contract of current North Oldham Fire Chief David Stoltz wasn’t renewed. A 30-year veteran of the department who started as a volunteer, it seems unnatural that Stoltz would depart out of the blue.

I don’t have any gay friends. At least I don’t think I do. I don’t really even know any gay people. I have some acquaintances who I suspect may be gay or that someone may have told me were gay. But no one has ever personally told me they were gay, so I don’t “know.” How would I know unless I asked them and that would just be rude and none of my business.

So I have no close knowledge of the gay marriage issue and no personal knowledge of gay people yearning for marriage equality.

This is the perfect time of year to cook with fresh vegetables. Most vegetables are in season now, so cook, can and freeze those vegetables. What is in season? Squash, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, cabbage, greenbeans, peppers and cucumbers... almost every vegetable.

Christians like the Old Testament stories that have mercy and inspiration in them, but some Christians find the stories of wrath and destruction to be offensive.For example, Samuel instructs King Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites.

“Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass” (I Samuel 15:3). Usually what Christians try to do is forget such texts are in the Old Testament, focus on the New Testament and pretend everything is alright.

When people think of Oldham County, many think of our schools. This is something of which we should all be proud because the successes and reputation of our schools serve as a reflection of our community and the value we place on education. Oldham County, when compared to the other 119 counties throughout the state, ranks among the highest in median household income and educational attainment.

Just a review, I’m a 29-year (fairly-active-in–schools-and-county-management) resident of Oldham/Prospect and I read. Evidently, the City of Goshen Mayor and cohorts passed an amendment to the leash law to include leashing cats? Even this non-roaming cats’ fan found this idea strange. We once tried to put a leash on our small parrot to get it sunshine – it didn’t go well!

I frequently notice random bruises on my legs, arms and torso, and have absolutely no idea how they got there. It could be that I bruise easily, but the truth is, I am a total klutz. I am so accident prone that it hardly registers anymore when I bump into inanimate objects or trip over my left feet.

Over the last three weeks we have looked at the problem of evil. We have seen how the Bible explains evil as rising out of the personified presence of evil that we call Satan, that our world is fallen due to the original sin of Adam and Eve and how the justice of God allows Him to solve the injustice of evil over eternity. Today I look at the most difficult challenge for us: Trusting in the goodness of God no matter what the circumstances in life that we face.

One of the best ways to negotiate the best price is to hire an experienced Realtor that is a strong negotiator. A Realtor can research the sold homes in your area to tell you the average the list price/sale price ratio. They can also research similar homes that have sold to confirm a fair sale price.